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PRESENTATION 



OF THE 




E OF 




TO THE 



CITY OF NEWBURYPORT. 




Printed by order of the City Council. 

1879. 






WILLIAM H. HUSE A CO., PRINTERS, 
NEWBURYrOKT HERALD OFFICE. 



ftoturoe viUiJko^ 



CITY OF IS^EWBURYPORT. 



In Board of Aldermen, March 3, 1879. 
Ordered, The Common Council concurring, that a joint special 
committee, consisting of the Mayor and two members of the Com- 
mon Council, be and hereby are appointed for the purpose of pre- 
paring for publication in pamphlet form, a detailed account of the 
public proceedings on the occasion of the presentation of the 
statue of Washington to the city of Newburj'port, and that this 
committee be and hereby are authorized to publish an edition not 
exceeding one thousand copies, the cost of the same to be charged 
to Incidentals ; one hundred of these pamphlets to be for the use 
of the City Council and others who contributed to the literary ex- 
ercises of the occasion, the balance to be disposed of at private 
sale to parties desiring to purchase the same at their cost. 

In Board of Aldermen, March 3, 1879. 

Adopted. — Attest, 

Geo. H. Stevens, City Clerk. 



In Common Council, March 3, 1879. 
Adopted in concurrence under a suspension of the rules, and 
Messrs. Arthur C. Richardson and Wm. E. McQuillen appointed 
on the part of this board. 

Attest, 

Thos. E. Cutter, Clerk. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



HELIOTYPES. 

Statue of Washington with Pedestal Frontispiece. 

Statue of Washington Opposite page 16. 

Portrait of Daniel I. Tenney, Esq " "60. 

LITHOGRAPH. 
Bronze Lamp Posts with Lanterns Opposite page 73. 



Introductory Remarks. 



Among the many evidences of social progress in 
this country is the wide dilFusion of a taste for the 
liberal arts. The numerous ornamental public parks 
and gardens in our towns and cities denote a refined 
civilization. Such works and improvements, while 
affoi'ding pleasure to the beholder, assist in educating 
the people; and in some degree, like the public libra- 
ry, they supplement the school and promote the hap- 
piness of a community. It is common to adorn parks 
and public squares with statues and monuments of 
art, to commemorate the lives of great men and 
events of historical importance. Patriotism, philan- 
thropy, statesmanship, literary fame, scientific and 
mechanical genius, and many other instructive sub- 
jects, are personified by the art of the sculptor, and 
perpetuated in ideal forms. These works are 'some 
of the fruits of accumulated wealth; and in many in- 
stances they are the voluntary gifts of generous 
individuals to distinguish and benefit a favorite local- 
ity, native city or town. 

Moved by early recoiled ions and by the love of 



6 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

birthplace, memory delights to recall the associations 
of youth. It is well known that N^ewburyport in- 
spires her children with sentiments of deep affection; 
and wherever their lot in life is cast, in whatever part 
of the country or world they make a dwelling place, 
their thoughts seek their native home with a feeling 
akin to that which turns the steps of the devout pil- 
grim towards the Holy City. 

Many substantial j)roofs of this attachment enrich 
the annals of JS'ewburyport. Among them may be 
named the elegant and massive gateway of Oak Hill 
Cemetery, donations to the Public Library and Read- 
ing Koom, bequests to the Old Ladies' Home and 
other charitable societies, and the recent munificent 
gift of a valuable work of art — a statue of Washing- 
ton in bronze — with an appropriate granite pedestal, 
which has been erected in a conspicuous place for 
the adornment of the city, and also as a memorial to 
exalted patriotism and public virtue. The erection 
of this statue adds a notable and interesting chapter 
to the historical records of our city. The subject 
was happily chosen. It links the present with the 
past, and reminds us of the important part taken 
by this ancient town in the Revolutionary struggle. 
It is the gift of one of her successful sons, whose re- 
peated acts of generosity associate his name with his 
native place, and manifest his interest in its welfare. 

The statue of Washington was formally presented 
to the city of Newburyport, February 22, 1879, by 
Daniel I. Tenney, of New York. By previously 
well dqvised arrangements, most successfully carried 
out, the public acknowledgment of the gift em- 



DTTRODUCTOKY REMARKS. 7 

braced a variety of appropriate services of a marked 
and instructive charactci', Avliich properly united the 
ceIe])ration witli, and happily commemorated the an- 
niversary of, Washington's birth. This lent addi- 
tional interest to the proceedings of the day, which 
chiefly took place at City Hall. 

The donor, Daniel Ingalls Tenney, who has been 
for many years a resident of Xew York city, was 
born in Newburyport, May 2, 1800. He was the 
son of Richard Tenney and Knth Ingalls, who then 
lived in a house on Federal street, near Prospect, and 
afterward for a short period at the corner of Orange 
and Fair streets. At the early age of twelve years he 
was a clerk in the store of his nncle, Perley Tenney, 
on Market square, where he remained until the severe 
depression in business resulting from the war of 
1812, led him to seek his fortune elsewhere. To 
Boston he turned his steps, walking the entire dis- 
tance, and with vague and unsettled plans for the 
future entered the ofiice of his maternal uncle, Dr. 
, William Ingalls. Finding temporary employment 
there, he sought and soon obtained a situation in 
mercantile life. After an apprenticeship of several 
years he removed to 'New York city to serve 
as clerk for his brother William, who, though 
younger in years, was well established in a jewelry 
store, at the corner of Murray street and Broadway. 
A co-partnership in the business soon followed, 
and was continued until his brother^s death in 18^8. 
Then assuming sole charge of the establishment he 
conducted its affairs prosperously and successfully 
until May 1, 1856, when, disposing of his stock 



8 STATUE OF WASHLSrGTON. 

in trade, he withdrew from active mercantile life ; and 
since has, quietly and without ostentation, enjoyed 
the leisure, comfort and wealth which are the legiti- 
mate fruits of his industry. 

In the year 1875, induced by his interest in the 
place of his birth, and his desire to encourage and 
promote its commercial prosperity, he joined with 
others in the purchase of a ship then building in this 
city, by John Currier, jr., which when completed and 
fitted for sea was named the Daniel I. Tenney; — a 
compliment which he gracefully acknowledged by the 
presentation of a set of signal flags, and a generous 
supply of glass, china and silver ware. 

Mr. Tenney's first donation to the city was the 
sum of five hundred dollars to aid in the purchase of 
a building for the Public Library, that being one of 
many contributions by citizens and former residents 
towards this worthy enterprise. This was followed 
by a New Year's gift, in 1877, of the elegant and 
costly lamp posts with plate glass lanterns which 
now light the entrance to the City Hall. An account 
of the official action of the City Government relating 
to this last gift may be found in the appendix. It is 
worthy of mention here that his only sister, Mrs. 
Eliza Hanaford, who died, in Brooklyn, in 1872, 
leaving Mr. Tenney the only survivor of the family, 
made a generous bequest of five thousand dollars to 
the Society for the Relief of Aged Females in New- 
buryport. 

The announcement that Mr. Tenney intended to 
present a statue to the city, was formally made at a 
meeting of the municipal authorities, held Oct. 7, 



EN^TRODUCTORY REMARKS. 9 

1878, in the following communication from one of its 
prominent citizens, a personal friend of Mr. Tenney : 

To His Honor the Mayor and City Council of the City of New- 
bur yp art: 

Gentlemen : — I have the lionor to announce to 3'ou that Daniel 
I. Tenne}-, of New York city, a native of Newbuiyport, feeling a 
veiT deep interest in his l)irthplace, has contracted with the cele- 
brated artist, J. Q. A. Ward, for a bronze statue of Washington, 
which, when completed, he proposes to present to this cit3^ 

As his representative I would respectful petition your honora- 
ble body for leave to locate the statue on the triangular spot at the 
east end of the Bartlet Mall, and for permission to occupy the 
ground during its erection. 

Respectfull}^ yours, 

Edward F. Coffin. 

The request in this petition was granted; and the 
laying of the foundation for the statue began imme- 
diately. At a meeting of the city government held 
November 4:th, 1878, Councilman J. C. M. Bayley. 
offered the following oi-der: 

Ordered, the Mayor and Aldermen concurring, that a joint 
special committee, consisting of His Honor the Ma3-or, two Alder- 
men, and as many as the Common Council may join, be ap- 
pointed to make the necessary arrangements for the reception and 
unveiling of the munificent gift of our former townsman, Daniel 1. 
Tenney, of New York ; said committee to have full power to make 
such arrangements as they deem advis'able, and that a sum not ex- 
ceeding one hundred and fifty dollars be appropriated to defraj- the 
expenses incurred, the sum so appropriated to be charged to the ac- 
count of Incidentals. 



This order was adopted under a suspension of the 

rules, and His Honor Mayor Smith appointed Alder- 

2 



10 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

men John P. Coombs and John A. L. Odd'e ; and 
President Bartlett appointed Councihnen S. A. 
Bridges, William Thurlow, J. C. M. Bayley, Law- 
rence B. Gushing and Charles H. Sargent. It was 
intended that the dedication should take place in 
December ; but owing to the lateness of the season, 
and to the fact that the artist desired his work to be 
exhibited in I^ew York for a short time, it was finally 
decided to postj^one the event until Washington's 
birthday, in the month of February following. 

At a meeting of the new city government, held Jan- 
uary, 22, 1879, a committee, consisting of His Honor 
Mayor John J. Currier, Aldermen Charles L. Ayers 
and William II. IS^oyes, Councilmen Joseph Hall, 
Thomas Huse, jr., and Thomas H. Boardman, were 
appointed to make arrangements on the part of the 
city for the reception of the monument. To the com- 
mittee, of which Mayor Currier was chairman, great 
credit is due foi* the satisfactory manner in which 
they performed the duties assigned to them. 



THE STATUE. 

This statue was designed and modeled by the well- 
known American sculptor J. Q. A. Ward, and was 
cast in bronze by George Fischer & Brother, of ]N'ew 
York city. It is of heroic size and is supported by a 
handsome, symmetrically shaped pedestal of granite. 
Washington is represented in the half military dress, 
in which he was accustomed to appear while Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the army. The coat is carelessly 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 11 

fastened at the middle button and sweeps awa}^ on 
either side well up to the collai", showing the ruffles 
on the shirt, and downward falls away from the 
thighs. The silk lappets of the coat, and the dis- 
placement of the cords of the bullion on the epaulets 
caused by the position of the arms, are perfectly 
rendered. He stands firmly with nearly equal weight 
on both feet. The left foot is slightly advanced 
making a bend at the knee. The right hand is open 
and slightly extended showing the palm, while the 
left rests on the pommel of his sword, poised on the 
ground. The face wears an expression of mildness 
and benevolence, softening somewhat the gravity it 
usually has in other representations. Tlie marks of 
action are slight and may be those of salutation or 
of slightly animated conversation. The figure is 
picturesque and striking from all points of view. It 
faces southeast, and is placed in the open ground 
at the eastern end of the Bartlet Mall, near the junc- 
tion of High, State and Pond streets, a favorable 
position for public observation. This site was se- 
lected by the donor. 



THE PEDESTAL. 

The pedestal which supports the statue, is eight 
and one-half feet high, of a light gray color, and is 
wrought out of the finest granite by M. T. Jameson 
& Co., of Rockland, Maine, from designs drawn 
by Kufus Sargent, Esq., of this city. It rests on a 
substratum of stone extending five feet below the 



12 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

surface of the ground. The first stone above the 
foundation, and resting upon it, is six feet four inclies 
square, and eighteen inclies thick. The next above 
has tapering sides, with mouldings and polished 
panels. These two stones form the base of the ped- 
estal. The body or die tapers upwards slightly and 
has upon it in raised letters the following inscription: 



PRESENTED 



DANIEL I. TENNEY, 



The ornamental cornice is handsome in design and 
finely wrought. The whole structure is enclosed by 
a heavy ornamented bronze rail, supported by twelve 
granite posts. Mr. Sargent had entire supervision of 
this work, from the preparation necessary to secure a 
substantial foundation to the selection of the mate- 
rials and the drawing of the plans required for the 
pedestal, and is justly entitled to great praise for the 
skill and taste he has displayed. 



HISTORY OF THE STATUE. 

When Mr. Tenney had formed a resolution to 
present a statue of Washington to his native city he 
selected Mr. Waid as the artist, and made a contract 
with him to furnish the statue complete within two 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 13 

years. In this undertaking Mr. Ward was inspired 
to execute it in the best manner, not only on account 
of his reputation as a sculptor, but by reason of his 
connection with a once prominent family here. The 
favorable opinion that has been expressed of the 
merits of his work has been sustained elsewhere. In 
Harper's Monthly Magazine for April, 1879, a writer 
on sculptors, speaking of this statue, says: 

" In Mr. Ward we see one of the most vigorous and individual 
sculptors of the age. As an influence in our art his example is of 
great importance, because while placing at its true value the good 
that may be obtained by familiarity with the models of classic 
art, whether by the study of casts here or abroad, he recognizes 
the basal principle of all true art — that its originating force 
must proceed from within, and that culture can only supplement 
but cannot suppl}'- the want of genius in the artist or the people. 
And thus, while thoroughly conversant with foreign and antique art, 
Mr. AVard has worked at home, and drawn the sources of his inspira- 
tion from home influences. He has a mind overflowing with re- 
sources ; his fancy is never still ; he is ever delighting to sketch in 
claj', if the term ma}' be so used. Many are familiar with the 
noble statue of Shakespeare and the " Indian Hunter" in the Cen- 
tral Park. The latter, although not in all respects anatomically 
correct, is in spirit and design one of the most notable works pro- 
duced by American plastic art. But the statue of Washington, 
just cast in bronze, and intended for (now in) Newbur^'port, is 
perhaps the best existing specimen of Mr. Ward's skill. The sub- 
ject is not a new one ; in fact, it has been treated so man}' hundred 
times in one form or another that especial originalitj' was needed to 
treat it again with any degree of freshness and interest. But the 
eflbrt has been crowned with success. There is in this statue, 
which is of colossal size, a sustained majesty, dignity, and repose, 
and a harmony of design ver}'' rarely attained in modern sculpture, 
entitling it to rank as a work of pure genius by the side of such 
works as Powers's ' Eve' and Akers's 'Pearl-Diver.'" 

To this high praise may be added, that as a memo- 



14 STATUE OF WASHrt^GTON. 

rial statue this work of art derives additional value 
from Mr. Ward's successful efforts in giving it a 
close resemblance in features, expression and figure 
to the great original. 

Mr. Ward was born in Urbana, Ohio, June 29, 
1830. After a fitting preliminary education he be- 
gan the study of medicine, which he afterwards 
abandoned to follow the more pleasing paths of art. 
He became the pupil of Henry Kirke Brown, a 
distinguished American sculptor, and designer of 
the first bronze statue ever cast in this country. 
The statue of Gen. I^^athaniel Greene in the capitol 
at Washington is one his best works. Mr. Ward 
continued with his teacher from 1850 to 1856, when 
he went to Washington and engaged in modeling 
portrait busts. In 1861 he opened a studio in l^ew 
York; and in 1863 was elected a member of the j^a- 
tional Academy of Design, and president of that in- 
stitution in 1874. 

Mr. Ward is essentially an American sculptor. 
His subjects, whether real or allegorical, are almost 
always distinctly American. Prominent among his 
works are the statues of Commodore Perry, General 
Reynolds, General Putnam, and also his " Good 
Samaritan " group, commemorative of the discovery 
of anaesthetics, and his incomparable " Indian Hunt- 
er." Many of our readers who have visited Central 
Park, New York, will remember seeing his fine 
statue of Shakespeare, the unveiling of which was 
the occasion of a noted demonstration on the part of 
literarv men and other citizens. 

Mr. Ward is now engaged on a series of allegorical 
statues for the new State House at Hartford, Conn. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 15 

They arc to symljolizc agriculture, law, commerce, 
science, music and equity. His equestrian Btatue of 
General Thomas (the writer alcove quoted says) is 
destined to occupy a high place in the annals of 
American art. It is of colossal size, and is to be cast 
in bronze. 



THE pkese:n^tatio^ a^d reception. 

The rigors of a Kew England winter usually pre- 
clude street parades. It was, thei-efore, wisely deter- 
mined by the Committee of Arrangements to confine 
the reception ceremonies, except the unveiling of the 
statue, to the City Hall. The day opened with a 
clear sky and a cold wind blowing from the north- 
west; but even the almost zero temperature of the 
early morning and the snow-covered streets of our 
city did not seriously interfere with the exercises of 
the day. As a public holiday it was observed in the 
customary manner, by the ringing of the church bells 
at sunrise, noon and at sunset, the display of flags 
from the shipping anjl from public and private build- 
ings, and by street decorations. 

At nine o'clock companies A and B, of the Eighth 
regiment, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, marched 
to the Boston & Maine depot and were there joined 
by companies M of Lawrence, and F of Haverhill, 
the battalion being under the command of Major 
Edward F. Bartlett of this city, with Lieut. Henry 
Walsh as acting Adjutant. The battalion, preceded 
by the Haverhill Cornet Band, then marched to City 



16 STATUE OF WASHINGTON^. 

Hall, which was soon filled to its utmost limit, the 
gallery, aisles, and every available inch of standing 
room being taken up. The rostrum was occupied by 
the City Government, ex-mayors of the city, clergy- 
men, and the committee appointed by the sons of 
ISTewburyport residing in 'New York. Back of the 
stand was Trumbull's fine portrait of Washington, 
presented to the city many years since by the late 
Caleb Cushing, surrounded by large American flags, 
constituting the only decorations. Soon after ten 
o'clock the ceremonies attending the presentation and 
reception of the statue commenced. 



ORDER OF EXERCISES 

AT 

City Hall, Newburyport, Mass., 

FEBRUARY 22, 1879. 



Grand Fantaisie, Bosquet. 

Haverhill Cornet Band. 

Introductory Prater, Rsv. Samuel J. Spalding, D. D. 

"Angel of Peace," to the music of Keller's American Hymn. 

Sung by a Chorus op Sixteen Voices. 

Address of Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, D, D., to the sons of 
Newburyport in New York City, with accompanying resolu- 
tions, presented b}- Rev. George D. Wildes, D, D. 

Original Hymn, By a Son of Newburyport. 

Washington — an original Sonnet, By Hon. George Lunt. 

Read by Rev. Geo. D. Wildes, D. D. 
Selections from "Martha," Arranged by Hartmaii. 

Haverhill Cornet Band. 
Address, Right-Rev. Thomas M. Clark, D. D. 

"Freedom, God and Right," J. Barnby. 

Sung by a Chorus of Sixteen Voices. 
Presentation of the Statue, By Edward F. Coffin, Esq. 

Acceptance of the Statue, By John J. Currier, Mayor. 

Musical Selections, Haverhill Cornet Band. 



Exercises at City Hall. 



After a grand fantaisie by the band, His Honor 
Mayor Currier, president of the day, stepped forward 
and said: The exercises here to-day commemorate 
events of national as well as of local importance. 
As citizens of this great republic, and es]Decially 
of this comnumity, we have reason to be truly and 
devoutly thankful. I ask you, therefore, in that spirit 
of devotion and gratitude which the occasion sug- 
gests, to unite, with the Rev. Dr. Spalding, of this 
city, in prayer. 

The Rev. Samuel J. Spalding, D. D., pastor of the 
Whitefield Congregational church, in response, then 
offered a fervent and eloquent prayer, substantially 
in the following words: 

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we invoke 
Thy blessing upon us in the exercises of this occa- 
sion. We thank Thee for all Thy favors to this 
community in years past; for giving to us an hon- 
ored and pious ancestry; for the planting of these 
churches and the establishment of our public 
schools. We thank Thee for the fruits of industry 
which the people of this community have been 



EXERCISES AT CITY IIA^L. 19 

permitted to gather. We thank Thee for putting it 
into the hearts of so many to remember their native 
town by gifts to the poor, the sick, the unfortunate, 
and the aged. We thank Thee for our organizations 
of charity so beneficent and Christ-Hke in their work. 
We thank Thee for our Public Library, the noble 
gift of the generous hearted, which has contributed 
and is now contributing so largely to the intelligence 
of this community ; and we pray that it may continue 
to grow and be a constant spring of pure and healthy 
intellectual and moral influence through all the gen- 
erations. We thank Thee for the gift to this city 
which has brought us together to-day, and we pray 
that it may be the means of holding up before 
our children and youth, through all coming time, 
the lessons of patriotism, self-sacrifice, purity and 
truth which are to be learned from the life of our 
own Washington. May Thy blessing. Holy Father, 
rest upon Thy servant, who has made us the recipi- 
ents of such noble benefactions. Grant Thy care and 
blessing to all our sons and daughters scattered, as 
they are to-day, even to the ends of the earth. 
Whether upon the land or upon the sea, keep them, 
Holy Father, under Thy divine protection, grant 
them ever Thy divine guidance. Bless thy servant 
the honored executive of this city, and all those as- 
sociated with him in its councils. Bless him who is 
to address us on this occasion, and grant that his 
words and all the influences of these services may 



20 SIATUE OP WASHINGTON. 

conduce to Thy glory and the highest good of this 
community. Remember this ancient Commonwealth, 
its Chief Magistrate, and all engaged in the State's 
service. Remember in mercy and in love our coun- 
try. Bless Thy servant the President and those as- 
sociated with him in council. Bind us more and 
more firmly together by the ties of common interest 
and common aims, that we may be that happy, united 
and prosperous people^ whose God is the Lord. 
These favors we ask in Christ's name. Amen. 

"Angel of Peace," to the nnisic of " Keller's Amer- 
ican Hymn," was then sung by a chorus of sixteen 
voices, under the direction of Mr. Edward McLaugh- 
lin. The choir was composed of the following ladies 
and gentlemen of this city: — 

Miss Julia M. Wells, Miss Carrie P. Lake, Miss Florence E. 
Lake, Mrs. Minnie S. Balch, Sopranos. 

Miss Rosa M. Smith, Miss Gertrude L. Cook, Miss Hannah M. 
Morse, Miss Clara M. Ballon, Altos. 

Edward McLaughlin, J. Lincoln Pearson, Charles Wilson, 
Frank Rundlet, Tenors. 

Leonard S. Choate, George H. Stevens, John B. Brookings, 
Walter Wilson, James W. Herve}', Bassos. 

Miss Mary E. Sumner, Accompanist. 

At the conclusion of the singing, Rev. Geo. D. 
Wildes, D. D., of Riverdale, I^. Y., after a brief 
word of introduction, expressive of regret that the 
venerable Dr. Tyng, chairman of the committee, was 
himself unable to be present, read the following call 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 21 

for a meeting of the sons of ]!^ewbnryport resident 
in 'New York, and the report of the meeting itself, 
which was hekl on the 29th of Jannary: 

New York, Jannary 27, 1879. 
You are invited to attend a meeting of the sons of Newburyport, 
to be holden at room 28, Cooper Union Building, on Wednesday, 
January 29, at 3 :30 p. m., to consider and act upon tlie subject of 
tlie presentation of a statue of \A'ashington to the Cit^' of New- 
bur3'port, by Daniel I. Tenney, Esq., of New Y''ork. 

Very respectfully, 

J. Nelsok Tappan. 
John S. Tappan. 
I. Denny Balch. 
John R. Hudson. 
C. Hodge Hudson. 
Daniel Foster. 

In accordance with the foregoing notice an enthusiastic meeting 
of the sons of Newburyport now resident in the cit}' and state of 
New York, was held in the Cooper Union Building, room 28, on 
the 29 th day of January, 1879. 

The meeting was called to order by C. Hodge Hudson, Esq., 
with a few appropriate remarks upon the gift of Daniel I. Tenney, 
Esq., to the City of Newburyport, of the beautiful statue of Wash- 
ington ; upon the admirable manner in which the artist had accom- 
plished the work, and upon the patriotism and public spirit of the 
good old town which made such a gift and her acceptance of the 
same eminently proper. 

Upon a motion, James Carey, Esq., of Brooklj-n, was chosen 
President of the meeting, and jMr. Daniel Foster, of New York, 
Secretar}-. , 

Mr. Hudson then offered the following resolutions : 

In consideration of the noble gift to our native city of Newbury- 
port, by our esteemed fellow citizen Daniel I. Tenney, Esq., it is 



22 STATUE OP WASHINGTON^. 

Resolved, That we do most earnestly desire to mingle our 
thanks and congratulations with those of our early friends and as- 
sociates, and all the citizens of our honored home, upon the occa- 
sion of the presentation of the statue of Washington to the city of 
Newbur^'portw 

Resolved, That we do heartily congratulate the city of New- 
bur3'port upon its good fortune in possessing a statue which is so 
appropriate to her well known patriotism and public spirit. 

Resolved, That we hereby express to the artist, J. Q. A. Ward, 
Esq., our congratulations for his eminent success in producing a 
satisfactory representation, in all respects, of the father of his 
countr}'. 

Resolved, That our warmest thanks are due to Daniel I. Ten- 
ney, Esq., of this city, the noble donor, for his munificent gift. 

Resolved, That a committee be now appointed to prepare a 
brief but appropriate address and to communicate the same with 
the foregoing resolutions to the city authorities of Newburj'i^ort, 
and a copy of the same to Mr. Tenney, and a copy of the resolu- 
tions to the artist. 

Resolved, That the committee appointed upon an address be re- 
quested to appoint a delegation to visit NewburjiDort and to repre- 
sent us at the inaugurative services. 

After some thrilling, patriotic, amusing and instructive remarks 
from Mr. Hudson, of New York, Rev. Geo. D. Wildes, D. D., of 
Riverdale, John P. Adams, Esq., of Brooklyn, the resolutions 
were unanimousl}' adopted. 

A committee was then appointed to prepare an address and ap- 
point a delegation to represent the sons at the unveiling of the 
statue at Newburyport, on Fel)ruary 22ud next. 

Committee on Address — Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, D. D. ; Rev. 
Stephen H. Tyng, jr., D. D. ; Rev. Geo. D. Wildes, D. D. ; Rev. 
Samuel L. Caldwell, D. D. ; John S. Tappan ; J. Nelson Tappan ; 
I. Denny Balch ; John R. Hudson ; C. Hodge Hudson ; James 
Carey ; John P. Adams ; Clarence Cook ; Daniel Foster ; C. C. 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 23 

Adams; Geo. D. Lunt ; Phillip K. Hills, jr. ; James W. Currier; 
Alfred T. Bricher. 

A deep interest in the subject of the meeting was expressed by 

all present, and also an earnest desire that Rev. J3r. Tj-ng, senior, 

should prepare the address of the absent sons to the city of their 

birth. 

A true record. Attest. 

Daniel Foster, Secretary-. 



February 6th, 1879. 

Meeting of committee on address this dAy at Cooper Union 
Building agreeably to notice. Rev. Stephen H. Tyng, D. D. 
presided. 

Upon motion of Mr. Foster, the following resolutions were 
adopted : 

Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be tendered to 
Samuel J. Dennis, Esq., of New York. Having had the supervis- 
ion and sole charge of the construction of the beautiful statue of 
Washington, he has given his personal time and attention for two 
years, watching with the closest care its progress, and with much 
anxiety and responsibility, to its successful completion. Although 
having no personal interest in the cit^' of our birth, save through 
the love and devotion of his dear and tried friend, the honored son 
of Newburyport, Daniel I. Tenney, Esq., he has by his indefatiga- 
ble zeal, large experience, untiring labor, excellent judgment and 
taste, called forth our admiration, and his efforts should be recog- 
nized and acknowledged by every son of Newburyport. 

Resolved, That we recognize and appreciate the active services 
of P^dw. F. Coffin, Esq., of Newburyport, in aid of Mr. Dennis 
and the plans of Mr. Tenne}*. 

Voted, That Rev. Geo. D. Wildes of Riverdale, Rev. Samuel 
L. Caldwell of Poughkeepsie, George D. Lunt of Brooklyn, 
James W. Currier of New York, Philip K. Hills, jr., of New 
York, be certified as delegates to our native city on the occasion of 
the unveiling of the statue of AVashiugton, February 22d next. 



24 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

The address of the sons of Newburj-port to the city authorities 
of Newburyport, prepared by the chairman of the committee, was 
read and unanmiousl}' adopted. 

Letters were read from Hon. Eben F. Stone of Newbur}T)ort, 
Rev. Geo. D. Wildes of Riverdale, N. Y., Rev. Samuel L. Cald- 
well, D. D., of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and Cltirence Cook, Esq., of 
New York. The meeting then adjourned. 

A true record. Attest. 

Daniel Foster, Secretar}'. 
New York, Feb. 6, 1879. 



This, said Dr. Wildes, brings me to the address 
" to the civic authorities of the city of IN^ewburyport, 
Mass., from the sons of ]N^ewbinyport resident in the 
city and state of Kew York," prepared by the Rev. 
Stephen H. Tyng, D. D., of ^ew York, and unani- 
mously adopted at a meeting' held in the Cooper 
Union building, Febi-uary 6th, A. D. 1879: — 

ADDRESS OP REV. STEPHEN H. TYNG, D. D. 

Honored GenUemen and Brethren: — We address 
you as the authorized representatives of an es- 
tablished corporation, which equally commands our 
respect, possesses our confidence, awakens our 
gratitude, and ap23eals to the warmest affections of 
oui- nature. We are the " Sons of I^ewburyport," 
and we look upon our native home with an affection 
undiminished by time, chei'ished by success, and oc- 
cupying the most earnest possession of our native, 
inherited and active being. In this relation, while 
memory shall abide, we can never forget whose we 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 25 

are, whence we came, a'nd to whom we are indebted 
for all that we have attained, or have been enabled to 
acquire in the multiplying years of an active, per- 
severing life. We owe all of acquisition or of reputa- 
tion to the principles, motives and ends of life, which 
were impressed upon us, and imparted to us from our 
earliest childhood. The beloved and revered individ- 
ual agents of this Gracious Providence may have 
long since dej^arted to their heavenly home; but 
our inborn love for them, and for the place of their 
dwelling, and the scenes of their active life, is undy- 
ing. Memory must fail, and affection become chilled 
and dead, before the persons and the place of our 
ancestral household can be separated from our daily 
thoughts, and our abiding gratitude and love: 

We, therefore, gladly embi'ace the opportunity and 
the honor of a grateful union with you in the accept- 
ance of a tribute of filial regard, so noble and so ap- 
propriate as is the splendid gift of our friend and 
brother of our adopted city to the possessors and 
representatives of our early and common home. The 
personal knowledge of this gift has awakened new 
pleasure in our conscious relation to this common 
home of our childhood and dwelling place of our 
parents. As children of that much loved birthplace 
we unite with you in new regard, gratitude and love 
for the brother who has thus invested his honorably 
acquired wealth in such a token of filial thought- 
fulness; a token so faithfully represented by the abid- 



26 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

ing love which we all feel for the place hallowed to 
us as the abode of our fathers. 

He has expressed the imiversal sentiment of the 
sons of ]!*^ewburyport, wherever scattered and how- 
ever occupied in the cares and duties of this earthly 
life. But we also address you, Mr. Mayor and Gen- 
tlemen of the City Council, as citizens of " no mean 
city," when we congratulate you as being the posses- 
sors of a grateful tribute, so splendid and so appro- 
priate. You are the living representatives of a 
community which from its foundations has been 
thoroughly American, truly loyal, and inseparably 
united in the maintenance of national authority, and 
the dignity and majesty of established law, although 
occasionally suftering from special national policy 
and unfortunate national rule. But in all past expe- 
rience we cannot foi'get that we are parts of a com- 
munity truly national in its influence and purpose, 
and nobly thorough as American citizens and as de- 
fenders of the national constitution, and of the public 
authority and wealth of the American people. N^o 
state in our national union can present in these 
several aspects a grander front, from the very estab- 
lishment of our national constitution, than good old 
Massachusetts. 'No part of Massachusetts can more 
proudly point to its local history in this particular 
than its wide extended seaboard, and no town of that 
seaboard can show a higher record, or more continu- 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 27 

ous, united history than our dear old home, New- 
buryport. 

A statue of the immortal Washington could no- 
where be set up and greeted by heartier welcome, or 
seem to be more at home, or moi'c in harmony with 
the inibroken patriotic history of any municipality, 
than in ^ewburyport. As by our birthright citi- 
zens of l^ewburyport, we joyfully unite in receiv- 
ing this splendid gift of our honored fellow citizen, 
and feel an honest pride that our native home should 
have been chosen for its abiding location, and that 
our generation should hav>e been selected under a 
Gracious Providence for the period of its public in- 
auguration, and the maintenance of Amei'ican unity 
which it represents. In every aspect of this exalted 
transaction we find much for which we may be justly 
grateful, and of which we may be reasonably proud. 

This whole historical event will reflect unfadino- 

o 

honor upon the prospered son of JN^ewburyport who 
has thus consecrated the gains of his fjiithfiil business 
life, and by this honorable transaction nobly attached 
his own name to such a monument of fidelity in duty, 
— and of success in a public and unselfish devotion, — 
a monument which must stand so long as the life of 
the nation lasts. The pride, the honor, the prosperi- 
ty of the grand old Bay State are inseparable from 
the national histoiy, and the maintenance of the great 
principles of national life illustrated by the Hie and 
deeds of Washington, which met with no more con- 



28 STATUE OF WASHES-GTODS". 

stant support than from the citizens of this old town 
of ours through the whole period of the Revolution. 

With this expression of the sentiments by which 
we are actuated on this occasion of deepest interest 
to all of us, we desire renewedly to express our 
united congratulations to our honored fellow citizen 
of ^ew York and son of ISTewburyport, whose filial 
gratitude has prompted him to this expression of his 
love for our early home, and of his thankfulness for 
blessings which he there enjoyed. So long as this 
noble monument shall stand, this honored citizen of 
our common native home will be remembered with it 
as an example of filial devotion and patriotic feeling 
in the generation in which he lived. 

We desire also to express our anited congratula- 
tions to the artist whose genius has originated, and 
whose skill has executed a statue so worthy, in a 
manner so grand and impressive. To this we add 
the conviction that while this noble illustration of his 
genius and skill shall abide, his own name cannot be 
forgotten in its association with the ennobling memo- 
ries of the name and fame of him whose majestic 
presence has realized at his hand one of its foremost 
art presentations. 

With such sentiments we gladly participate in the 
interesting ceremonies of the present occasion, as- 
sured that while time shall last the character and the 
memory of Washington will be cherished. May 
they become increasingly influential in all succeeding 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 29 

generations of the American people. We address- 
ourselves as sons of ISTewburyport to the accredited 
municipal representatives of this city of our birth; 
the old home for which we entertain undying affec- 
tion, beneath whose protecting shades we had our 
birth, and to whose watchful care we would commit 
not alone this memorial of the great, but in our own 
final departure from earthly scenes, the memory of 
whatever in the character of her sons, has illustrated 
the virtue and bravery of our dear and former home. 
Signed in behalf and by order of the committee 
appointed for the pur^^ose. 

Stephen H. Tyng, Chairman. 
Daniel Foster, Secretary. 



In responding to this address, of the Sons of 
i^ew^buryport residing in lS"ew York, Mayor Currier 
then said: — 

Reverend Sir: — In the name of the City Council 
here present, I thank you for the congratulatory ad- 
dress and the accompanying resolutions, expressing 
as they do sentiments that awaken a responsive echo 
in our hearts. AVe are happy to receive these evi- 
dences of remembrance from those who though sepa- 
rated from us still rejoice with us in the good fortune 
that has fallen to our common home. We desire you 
to accept for yourself, and to convey to your associ- 



30 STATUE OF WASHINGTOI^. 

•ates ill the city of N^ew York, our hearty thanks for 
these cordial and affectionate greetings. We appre- 
ciate their kind and thoughtful consideration, and 
gladly unite their congratulations with our own on 
this memorable occasion. 



The following original hymn was then sung to the 
tune of Federal Street: 



God of our fathers ! thee we own ; 

Their strength, their courage and their stay ; 
Thou wast their help — and tliou alone — 

Didst give the issue to their da3\ 

Their children's children ask thine aid 

To save, the land they loved so well, 
And plead the promise thou hast made 

And bidden them their children tell : — 

That if they keep thy words and day, 

Thy wisdom own, thy love enforce. 
No night shall ever check their wa}'. 

But onward still shall be their course : — 

Accept the work this day we bring ; 

Give to the silent lips command, 
And bid th}- winds on willing wing 

This message bear throughout the land. 

" Forever sheathed be the sword ! 

The ploughshare be your constant l)oast ! 
A lasting union your reward, 
And God omnipotent ^-our host ! 

The poet, Hon. George Lunt, also a native of 



EXEKCISES AT CITY HALL. 31 

ISTeAvbiiryport, being unal^le to be present, sent the 
following, which was read by Rev. George D. 
Wildes, D.D. :— 

WASHINGTON. 

A SONNET BY HON. GEORGE LUNT. 

Throughout the world, among the sous of meu, 

What fame like thiue, bejoud the reach of time? 

Heroes and Kings, by Historj-'s supple pen, 

Emblazoned stand, too oftenest for crime ; 

But th}^ pure record, generous and sublime, 

Reveals no stain nor blot, the light to mar 

That shines through all those living lines that show 

How honest Duty was th}' guiding star ; 

In the hard present, patient ; and afar 

Seeing the glorious future's radient bow ; 

Great in the field, and in the chair of State, 

Won for thy country's honor, simply Great ; 

Thy country saw thee chiefest citizen. 

The world proclaimed — "Behold, the chief of Men !" 

The Haverhill Cornet Band then played, with fine 
effect, some mnsical selections from "Martha," ar- 
ranged by Hartman, and after the last strains had 
died away, the Mayor, advancing to the front of the 
platform said: — 

Ladies and Oentlemen: — I now have the pleasnre 
of introdncing to yon a distingnished son of ]N^ew- 
bnryport, Eight-Rev. Thomas M. Clark, D. D., 
Bishop of Rhode Island. 

Bisho]) Clark was received with hearty applanse. 
Gracefnlly acknowledging the compliment, he then 
proceeded to address the audience as follows : — 



32 STATUE OF WASHEN'GTON-. 

ADDRESS OF BISHOP THOMAS M. CLARK, D. D. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: — There are several things 
which combine to give special interest to the present 
occasion. It is the twenty-second day of February, 
Washington's birth-day; an anniversary that is hal- 
lowed in the heart of every true American. It is a 
sacred name that we commemorate to-day. There is 
but one other that carries with it more of solemn 
majesty and enkindles a higher glow of grateful 
aifection, and that is the name of One who was more 
than man. 

On this memorable anniversary, a loyal son of 
IS^ewburyport unveils a statue here, in his native 
town erected in honor of him whom we shall always 
delight to call the Father of his country. It is right 
and fitting that we should thus perpetuate in marble 
and bronze the forms of the great and good who 
have departed ; and it is a graceful and proper thing 
for us to show by our deeds the love and reverence 
that we cherish for the place which gave us birth and 
nurtured us in our childhood. He who, by a noble 
benefaction, honors his native town, brings much 
honor to himself. I congratulate you, Mr. Mayor, 
the other officers of the city, and the people at large, 
in becoming the recipients to-day of such a benefac- 
tion; and in your name, and in the names of those 
who have come back to their old home to keep the 
festival with you, I would thank Mr. Tenney for his 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 33 

beautiful aud most appropi'iate gift. It will perpetu- 
ate his own name, in connection with that great name 
which Americans most delight to honor. 

We are all more pleased than surprised at what he 
has done; for, whatever may be their lot, the sons of 
old ISTewburyport cling, in a very close and loving 
way, to their good mother, and can sing out of a full 
heart, 

"Where'er I roam, whatever reahiis to see, 
M}'' heart untravcrd fondly turns to thee." 

I do not believe there is a town on the whole conti- 
nent where the associations of birthplace have a 
stronger and more tenacious hold, especially upon the 
hearts of those who have been compelled to go forth 
into strange regions in order to earn a living there. 
I do not know how it may be with the boys and girls 
of this generation. I^ewburyport is not the same 
quaint and quiet, impassive and isolated place that it 
was fifty years ago, when some of us knew it best. 
Factories have come in, with their whirl of spindles 
and rattle of looms; railway trains thunder through 
the streets, morning, noon and night; telegraphic 
wires flash intelligence, hour by hour, and minute 
by minute, from the outside world, for which we had 
to wait patiently until the sound of the post-horn 
was heard on the turnpike; precious metals are im- 
earthed in soil from which the cows once turned 
away, disheartened at the thought of trying to get a 



34: STATUE OF WASHDTGTON. 

living there. The town is now a city, with its Mayor 
and Aldermen and Common Councilmen; and the 
venerable Selectmen, with their humble associates, 
have passed away, to be seen no more. All is 
changed within half a century. The outside world 
has come in to disturb the repose of the town that 
used to sleep so peacefully on the beautiful banks of 
the Merrimac. I wonder if the old familiar haunts 
can have the same associations now which they had 
for the children a generation or two ago. Do the 
boys and girls roam over the Laurel grounds and seek 
for flowers, with the same throb and flush that once 
made life so pleasant? Do they wander about ancient 
Joppa, looking anxiously, as we used to do, for the 
house of "one Simon, the tanner by the seaside?" 
Is Plum Island the same wild desert, with its fantas- 
tic hillocks and hollows, its glamour of wrecks and 
strange rescue, its dry shrubs bearing sweet fruits 
after their kind, and that a kind to be found nowhere 
else? Do the light-houses change places mysteri- 
ously, after a great storm, as they once did? Are 
the Plum Island flies as large and venomous as they 
were? Does the great sea still send forth its wild 
moan and solemn baritone, through the dark watches 
of the winter night? Have the broad meadows, 
studded with hay-cocks, the same sweet, salt smell, 
and the same strange, incomprehensible, monotonous 
charm? Are 'peaceful countrymen, as they float lazi- 
ly up the river in their clumsy gondolas, laden with 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 35 

salt hay, and traditionally replenished with one special 
article of substantial 'New England food, still saluted 
from the wharves by unmannered boys, with the same 
contemptuous epithets? Do the up-towners and 
down-towners retain their ancient hostility, and drive 
each other through the streets with jeers and shouts 
and stone- thro wing and snow-balling? Do the good 
people go to meeting, night after night, with the same 
pious pertinacity, and wale familiar psalms "with the 
same judicious care?" On stormy nights, when the 
wind howls and the under roars, does the devil still 
preach in his stone pulpit at the mouth of the den, sig- 
nalled by the three tall poplars? Are the old chain 
bridge and dark bridge, with the little green island 
between, where the pines made such sweet and mel- 
ancholy music, as attractive as ever? Is Frog pond 
all that it was? Some of the surroundings of this 
placid, not to say inert sheet of water, have long 
since vanished, — the round powder-house, the square 
pound, the hay-scales, and the gun-house, marvel- 
ously carved with wooden cannon, that stood on the 
western bank; all these are now 

" Only a dream of things that were." 

And the men that lived in the days of the powder- 
house and the pound have almost all departed. The 
doctors, whom we boys knew so well — sometimes too 
well for our peace — have gone. Noyes and Atkin- 
son, Bradstreet and Prescott, Johnson and Brickett, 



36 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

and Spofford and Yergnies — always pronoonced 
Yern — they have followed their patients into another 
realm, and now rest from their labors. They were, 
as a general rule, a most agreeable and genial class 
of men; many of them heroic in their lives, and 
all of them heroic in their practice. And the law- 
yers of the period, where are they? Wildes and 
Moseley, Marston and Parish, and Gerrish and 
Scott, with their green bags and stately tread and 
anxious faces, who nsed to gather in Conrt week at 
the temple of Justice on the Mall. Alas! even the 
wooden statue of Justice, with scale and sword, that 
once surmounted the pediment, is gone. Do you re- 
member the quick, sharp tones of the Harris street 
bell, as it summoned judges and lawyers and clients 
and culprits to the bar? rendered by us into rythmic 
words, "Run, boys, run, the Court's begun." The 
most renowned and learne^ of all this honored pro- 
fession lingered longest of all, and it is but yesterday 
that the name of Gushing was enrolled in the ranks 
of the dead. George Lunt, the silver-tongued 
scholar^ and poet, still lives, and adorns with his 
graceful pen the exercises of this memorable day. 

Shall I leave unnoticed the ministers of olden time, 
who, for the most part, abode in the vineyard until 
removed by death, untempted by the love of change 
and the hankering after broader fields, and undis- 
turbed by a restless people, longing for novelties and 
weary of the old familiar voice? Parson Andrews, 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 37 

gentlest and purest of men, who, everybody said, 
lived the gospel, — even those who doubted if he 
preached it; Parsons Giles and Boddily, both men of 
independent views, and rei)resentatives of a political 
party not very popular here in their time; Dr. Morss, 
the courteous gentleman and faithful pastoi", who 
lived and died in the place that gave him birth, 
known and respected of ail; Samuel P. Williams, to 
whose name titles did not readil}^ stick, the able and 
eloquent preacher, whose rich and impressive tones 
linger on my ear, like the sound of a great organ, 
and who never had the fear of man before his eyes; 
Charles W. Milton, also without the fear of man be- 
fore his eyes, who lifted up his voice like a trumpet, 
and spared not — an Englishman, who settled down 
into Newburypoi't ways as naturally as if he were " a 
native here, and to the manor born." Dr. Dimmick, 
who drew all hearts to his side, and fed his people 
with the choicest wheat; Mr. Miltimore, of Belle- 
ville, just outside the town limits, but one in 
heart with his bi'ethren here, the pattern of a gentle- 
man in dress and demeanor, and of a Christian in 
temper and s])irit ; and last, but by no means least, 
Dr. Daniel Dana, rich in English lore and a master of 
sentences, ttieologian of theologians, orthodox of or- 
thodox, as resolute of will as he was meek of deport- 
ment, and who was at last gathered in as a shock of 
corn fully ripe in his season. One of this noble band 
still lingers with us, of whom I might have much to 



38 STATUE OF WASHES'GTON. 

say if he were not alive to read it ; but then he needs 
no eulogy in this presence. If the rarest and ripest 
scholarship, the most sincere and genuine manliness, 
and the purest and most elevated piety, ever entitled 
one to live in the memory of those who come after 
him, the name of Leonard Withington will be sure of 
a place in history, after he also is numbered with the 
departed, a numbering, which, we pray God, may be 
deferred for many a year. 

Other names come to me in battalions, of men and 
women in various spheres, which I would be glad to 
mention if the time allowed. I have already lingered, 
perhaps, too long, in a field which I can never en- 
ter, without some difficulty in finding my way out 
again; but those to whom I have spoken "household 
words " will be glad to have some of their old remi- 
niscences revived to-day; and my younger auditors, 
I am sure, will be patient with the garrulity of age. 

I must again congratulate you all, because of the 
form in which Mr. Tenney has seen fit to bestow his 
benefaction upon this, his native town. Beautiful for 
situation, and adorned with many a stately private 
mansion, this goodly city has never been distin- 
guished for its civic or ecclesiastical architecture, and 
public works of art have been almost entirely un- 
known. The only place where there is anything in 
this department to attract the eye, lies in the lovely 
city of the dead. There, as is perhaps most fitting, 
you have lavished all your stores of art. 



EXEECISES AT CITY HALL. 39 

In onr 'New England towns, the value of art as an 
educator, and also as a source of the most refined 
pleasure, has not been fairly estimated. Fifty years 
ago, if we wished to get any idea of the Christopher 
Wren style, we were pointed to the Pleasant street 
church spire; and it is not a poor specimen of that 
order of architecture. Tlie brick church on Brown 
square was the only edifice that exhibited the lines 
and curves of Gothic. How it did this I need not 
say. The Court House in the Mall much more pic- 
turesque than it is to-day, was our idea of a grand 
hotel de ville; and the stone jail, near by, was oiu' 
ideal castle and fortification. The ponderous marble 
pile in the Federal street chiu'ch, erected in memory 
of Whitefield, was, alas, our oidy type of monumen- 
tal architecture. Of the far-famed Dexter images, — 
I never heard them called statues, — we can hardly 
speak as works of art, although I think they have 
been somewhat underi-ated. Whenever I recall the 
forms of Washington and Adams and Jefferson, I 
always conceive of them as they showed themselves 
over the arch of his lordship's door. I remember 
that the learned Fi-ench physician. Dr. Yergnies, who 
lived at the corner of Market and Washington streets, 
had a small carved figure over his outer door, Avhich 
led to the current belief that he was an idolator, 
when, in fact, he worshipped nothing. This is all 
the material which our blessed town furnished her 
children fifty years ago as an educator of art. If I 



40 STATUE OF WASHINGTOI^^. 

were not likely to trespass iipoiirdangerous ground, 
I might go on to say that she has not clone much dur- 
ing the last fifty years to elevate art. Some of the 
more modern churches, in the style of their architec- 
tecture, have not improved very materially upon the 
past. I will not specify, for this might give offence. 
There is one somewhat stately ecclesiastical edifice, 
standing on the site of a very difiierent sort of build- 
ing, upon which I used to look down from my cham- 
ber window every day, — the little, low, unpainted 
shed, where Master Titcoml) administered mild dis- 
cipline and "taught the young idea how to shoot". 

That it should be otherwise was perhaps hardly to 
be expected. The early settlers of the town had as 
much as they could do to make themselves comforta- 
ble, without concerning their minds about splendid 
edifices and marble arches and bronze statues; and 
when the day of great commercial prosperity came, 
the superfluous wealth as was natural, found its first 
use in the erection of sumptuous dwelling houses. 
The tide of this prosperity soon ebbed, and after that 
there was no money to spare tor the adornments of 
art. In my boyhood, there wei'e very few buildings 
of any sort erected in the town, and "decay's efi'acing 
fingei's" was making sad havoc with many of the old- 
er edifices. I grew up with the impression that the 
world was finished a little before I was born, and 
that nothing more would ever be done to it. 

As a nation, we are just beginning to concern our- 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 41 

selves in the department of art; and it is not strange 
that, dnring this transition period, we should some- 
times be sadly imposed npon by incompetent archi- 
tects and awkward scnlptors. In nearly all our great 
cities there are costly and pretentious structures, 
which must, as long as they stand, be a nuisance and 
an eyesore. There are vast pictures, painted and paid 
for at the public cost, which distress the sight of one 
accustomed to the rich treasures of art in the old 
world. There are many funeral monuments, under 
which it is hard to conceive that the dead can rest in 
peace. There are statues, in bronze and marble, of 
our great men, in public parks and in front of public 
buildings, and at the corners of the street, which it is 
dreadful to look upon. In all these departments, 
however, there also noble works of art, of which no 
nation need to be ashamed; and such a work, I think 
I may assure you, will be unveiled in your presence 
to-day. Perhaps it is well that our city should have 
waited until the time came when we could be sure of 
something of this sort, in which we may all rejoice; 
and there is some comfort in the thought that we 
have no monuments or statues in our ]3ublic walks 
which we would be glad to demolish. I trust that 
other citizens at home and abroad may follow in Mr. 
Tenney's Avake, until this city becomes as famed foi- 
art as it always has been for the practice of moral 
and Christian virtues. 

But let us be careful not to honor, in bronze or 
6 



42 STATUE OF WASHINGTON". 

marble, any that do not deserve the honor. And 
here, for the third time, I congratulate you all, 
because of the fact that the first statue erected here 
is that of Washington. I shall not attempt to ana- 
lyze his character. The keenest minds that have 
tried to do this, always disappoint us. A man of such 
absolute symmetry and exquisite balance of faculties 
— nothing wanting, nothing in excess, no striking 
contrast of qualities, no erratic impulses, no splen- 
did antitheses, — cannot be satisfactorily dissected 
or described. His virtues may be duly classified and 
labelled, it may be said he was very wise, very pru- 
dent, very unselfish, very just, and still you do not 
feel that the man has been brought home to your ap- 
prehension. You look at his statue iu the Capitol at 
Richmond, which is not an ideal but a facsimile of his 
person, and you say, "He is not very formidable or 
stately, his features are far from being handsome, he 
has a retreating brow and an awkward mouth," and 
still there is something in that figure which transfixes 
you, there is a strange spell in the serene, impassive 
face, and involuntarily you uncover in the presence of 
the speaking bronze. You read his public and his 
private correspondence, his official papers, the diary 
of his life, and there are no recondite thoughts, 
no flashes of genius, no rhetorical embillishments. 
There is perfect clearness and accuracy of statement, 
great, good sense in all his suggestions, and the hand- 
writing indicates much deliberation. That seems to 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 43 

be all; but there is something in these records, even 
when they deal with the homliest matters, which im- 
press us more than logic or rhetoric. He was not an 
orator, not even a great talker, a man of few words 
in public and private; he was not a man of great 
learning and would have been puzzled to know what 
some of our modern philosophers mean; he was not 
a brilliant geniils, but he did the thing which ora- 
tors and poets and historians are proud to chronicle. 
His strength was in himself, and he moved the world 
by the power of his character. 

It is a marvel that one so calm and collected should 
have had such an electric and inspiring 'influence over 
those with whom he was associated. I have heard 
old men, with trembling lips and eyes running over 
with tears, speak of the thrill which a word or a 
glance from him shot through their veins, as they 
stood by his side amid the thunder and smoke of bat- 
tle. It was to them as the voice of an angel, and 
danger and death were forgotten. This man made 
our armies invincible. And when the strife was over, 
he stood by to guard and reconcile conflicting parties, 
and for the checks and balances of our constitution, 
which have protected us alike from the ravages of 
anarchy and the iron gripe of despotism, — we are in a 
great degree indebted to "Washington. Can we ful- 
ly appreciate what he has done for us? The grand- 
est problem ever committed to man, has devolved 
upon us — the experiment, on the mightiest scale, of a 



44 STATUE OF WASHi:NrGTO]^. 

constitutional government, in which the humblest cit- 
izen may look upon his chief ruler as his peer. This 
]N^orth American continent seems to have been re- 
served for a thousand years for the very pui'pose of 
testing this great problem. The chosen men of the 
chosen races were sent here by providence to solve 
this question. All nature has conspired to help us; 
the earth gives without stint its precious ores, and 
our valleys laugh and sing with their abundant fruit. 
Noble rivers float our rich granaries to the sea-coast, 
and landlocked harbors protect our ships. We can 
raise every thing that we need to eat, manufacture 
every thing that we need to wear; and no foreign 
foe can safely touch the hem of our garment. How 
the heart of the American traveller bounds, when, 
after wandering among strange people in foreign 
lands, he suddenly sees the stars and stripes floating 
at the masthead in a distant port ! What a feeling 
of security it gives him ! And how proud he is to 
say, — '-That is my flag, the ensign of the freest, 
grandest nation on the globe, stretching almost from 
the arctic to the equatoi", washed by two oceans, on the 
east and on the west, and enclosing within her own 
boundaries seas that are oceans on a smaller scale. 
That is my flag, the ensign of a land where more 
than thirty nations are confederated, united, merged 
in one, where there is less of abject poverty and a 
higher average of intelligence, more of thrift and in- 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 45 

dustry and enterprise, and a more rapid and snbstan- 
tial growth than was ever before known." 

What if this great repnblic, which called Wash- 
ington Father, were to-day broken in fragments! I 
have heai'd those who, nnder a mistaken notion of 
their wrongs and their rights, once fonght for its 
overthrow, rejoice in the fact of their defeat. Well 
may they rejoice, for the disruption would not have 
ended with one grand cleavage; the disintegrated 
rock would have crumbled into atoms, and a flock of 
little sparrows would have been a more appropriate 
ensign than the bald old eagle. 

What a calamity it will now be, if the Eepublic, 
retaining its nominal unity, should be permanently 
sundered in heai't and spirit — a solid I*^orth and a 
solid South standing face to fnce in no l^rotherly way, 
but with mutual hostility in their souls! If we have 
buried the hatchet, let us all agree to bury the handle 
of the hatchet out of sight. And shall this nation 
lose its place among the empires of the world, by the 
intrusion into her councils of men, who represent 
neither the intelligence or the morals of the people? — 
not even their best general interests, — men who crawl 
into power by tortuous passages and through slimy 
paths! When politics degenerate into a trade and 
the good of the whole is sacrificed to the interests of 
the few, — when our best citizens stand aloof from the 
conduct of civil affairs, and leave the ship of state to 
be piloted by men who will run her upon the rocks, 



46 STATUE OF WASHINGTON". 

whenever they think they can secure abundant spoil 
out of the wreck, — it will be becoming in us to erect 
no more statues to Washington. After what it cost 
him and his compeers to establish the nation, it would 
be a mean and cowardly thing in us to allow it to 
perish. The more we study the conditions which 
surrounded the men who accomplished our indepen- 
dence, the more marvellous it seems that they could 
ever have succeeded. Never has there been a great 
struggle for freedom undertaken at worse odds and 
in defiance of more serious difficulties. Consider 
how formidable the foe with which they had to con- 
tend. Great Britain was then at the height of her 
pov>rer; we were an insignificant handful of colonies, 
without an army, without a navy, without a treasury, 
without resources, and without any visible bond of 
union. England possessed great armies, trained and 
disciplined, veteran soldiers familiar with battle, well 
armed, well clothed, well provisioned, and well offi- 
cered. Our volunteers had for the most part to learn 
the art of war after they reached the field. They 
suffered terribly for want of food and clothing and 
shelter, were mocked with promises of pay that were 
often broken, always tempted at the close of their 
brief term of enlistment to return to their homes, 
not unfrequently victimized by incompetent leaders, 
and sometimes fractious and rebellious, not without 
cause. The force against which we were arrayed 
was an established, consolidated, ancient kingdom, 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 47 

with its monarch and its parliament, a mighty ma- 
chine with every wheel in its place, moving steadily, 
harmonionsly, and propelled by a power, which one 
might have thought, must be irresistible. We had 
no central government, no source of authority but 
that which was devised for the occasion, no general 
system of taxation, no precedents of usage or law 
to which the people felt themselves bound to defer. 
The different sections of the land were jealous of each 
other, our best and ablest men were often thwarted by 
mean and paltry aspirants for office; traitors sprang up 
in every quarter, who played into the hands of the ene- 
my and gave them aid and comfort, and too many 
men made loud professions of patriotism only to sub- 
serve their own private advantage. The men of stand- 
ing, such as had held colonial offices; the wealthy 
class, which is always conservative and opposed to all 
change, whether for the better or the worse, '^ that 
tend to unsettle the tenure and value of property; 
and all religious people and clergy, who believed in 
the divine right of kings and the wickedness of re- 
bellion, were opj^osed to the war. When the radicals 
began to tallv treason and threaten armed resistance 
to King and Parliament, the ladies and gentlemen 
who moved in the best circles and represented the re- 
spectability of the country, shuddered in their hearts 
and marvelled not less at the folly than at the wiclv- 
edness of those unnatural and ruthless children, who 
talked of fighting their good old mother over the sea. 



48 STATUE OF WASHES^GTON. 

With all this to contend with, it is somewhat doubt- 
ful whether without the aid of France, the American 
cause could have triumphed ; although, of course, the 
establishment of our indepeudence would have been 
a mere question of time. If the declaration issued 
in 1776 had come to naught, another would have 
been proclaimed, on some pretence, in the course of a 
few years, and sustained. But, whatever we may 
think of the degree in which we were indebted to the 
French for our success, it is certain we must have 
failed, if the good cause had not been sustained by 
the indomitable, self-sacrificing, persevering, untiring 
patriotism of a few grand and noble spirits, among 
whom we must alwaj^s rank as most conspicuous and 
most illustrious that man whose statue we unveil to- 
dny. When the hearts of others failed, he stood firm. 
When others talked of compromise, he responded, — 
" We will conquer or die, and we mean to conquer." 

After a storm at sea the shore is covered w^ith bar- 
nacles and weeds and rubbish of all sorts, which had 
been floating on the waves or buried in the sands. 
So every great political commotion, however salutary 
in its general results, is liable to bring to the surface a 
great deal of waste and miserable material. Men be- 
come prominent at such times, who would never have 
been heard of if things had continued quiet, and 
sometimes they prove to be just the men which the 
country needs; sometimes they are of that class 
which belittles and degrades the noblest cause. 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 49 

There are none so dangerous as those who affect 
political virtue for the sake of advancing their own 
interests. In civil affairs next to these we have most 
cause to dread incompetent men. All parties are 
more or less infected with both these classes. For 
this, and other reasons, many persons are losing con- 
fidence in all existing parties. At this moment, a 
large proportion of our best citizens are waiting the 
issue of events, before determining where they will 
cast in their political lot for the future. There is an 
intense longing to see a higher and better class of 
men in stations of power and influence, and to find or 
create some party ready to repudiate the pernicious 
doctrine that " to the victors belong the spoils," and 
establish a civil service upon some such basis as is re- 
cognized in the administration of our great commer- 
cial interests. The watchword of that party which 
deserves to triumph should be the sacred observance 
of every national obligation, full and jjunctual pay- 
ment of our just dues, proper economy in all public 
affairs, suppression of frauds and favoritism every- 
where, and the abolition of all tariffs and im^ioi'ts 
which tend to repress or destroy any branch of 
American industry or to build up great monopolies at 
the cost of the community. 

As, however, we have not assembled to nominate 
candidates for office, these remarks may not seem to 
be entirely in place, and I come back before closing, 
to the subject of art as an educator. The statue, 

7 



50 STATUE OP WASHINGTOlsT. 

which we are about to unveil, is not placed here mere- 
ly as an ornament to the city, but it is intended to be 
a monitor and a teacher. It stands in its place, to 
remind us of the duties we owe to our country, and 
to all who are oppressed within its borders. Let the 
citizen, as he passes under its shadow and looks up 
into the face of Washington, ask himself whether his 
politics are clean and his hands unsoiled by corrup- 
tion. If the bronze could become vocal, it might ut- 
ter some words that would make our ears tingle. It 
might break the silence by asking, "What does it all 
mean — this lowering of the standard of commercial 
integrity, tWs reckless trifling with solemn trusts, this 
getting of gigantic loans by false pretences, this re- 
pudiation of honest debts, this growing indifference 
to the public welfare? If men grow rich by fraud, 
how can the nation prosper?" If you deprive the 
hireling of his wages, and the widow of her little 
store, the Almighty hand that has swept into oblivion 
so many magnificent empires and left them only a name 
to live, will sweep you away, and the cry will go forth, 
" How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of 
people !" 

But I must remember that the hero of Valley 
Forge Avas not a man of desponding temper, and if 
his voice could be heard to-day, it would utter notes 
of good cheer, as well as words of warning. It 
would remind us of our blessings, as Avell as of our 
perils. It would encourage us to lay aside the sins 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 51 

which most easily beset us, and press forward. With 
an extent of territory twice as large as that of the 
old Roman empire; with such variety of soil and cli- 
mate that we can produce everything which the com- 
fort or luxury of man demands ; with our inexhausti- 
ble stores of metal and coal and oil ; with our work- 
shops, mills and foundries filled with men whose brains 
are working even faster than their hands; with our 
system of public schools which gives to every child 
a good education without money and without price; 
with our free government where the highest office is 
open to the humblest citizen ; with our pure and holy 
religion, supported by the voluntary off'erings of the 
people, recognizing without reserve the sacred rights 
of private judgment, and always and everywhere 
holding up before the nation the example of "Him 
who knew no sin," — standing on such a height, if we 
fall, over our ruin will be tolled the death knell of 
civil and religious liberty throughout the world. But 
we must not fall. Standing around the statue of 
Washington, let us one and all pledge our best ser- 
vice to the KexDLiblic. From this day forward let our 
ancient town which never faltered in the dark and 
stormy days of the Revolution, with the august form 
of our national Father looking down and greeting 
you, rise to a loftier sense of its political responsibili- 
ties, and say to every selfish demagogue who seeks to 
intrude into our State or national councils, — " Stand 
back, there is no place for you there." 



52 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

I now recall the memory of one dark stormy night, 
in my boyhood, when the boom of cannon and the peal 
of bells and stirring notes of trumpet and fife and 
drum, announced the arrival in IN'ewburyport of La 
Fayette, friend and companion of Washington. I re- 
member how, on the next morning, as I was with him 
in his room, he drew me towards him, and with his 
arm around my neck, said — " My son, if you live to 
be a man, you must be a patriot and always love your 
dear country." God grant that T may always have a 
country to love! And may that Almighty Being, 
who presides over the destiny of nations, bring 
to naught and dash in pieces the counsels of every 
traitor, who would rend the charter of our liberties, 
and every demagogue, who is willing to tarnish the 
honor of a republic, which owes its being, under 
God, to the toils and sacrifices of such men as La 
Fayette and Washington. 

Let us now go forth, with solemn ceremonial, to 
unveil the stately statue which a princely munificence 
has erected here, and upon which the eyes of our 
children will rest, generation after generation, with 
grateful and loving admiration. It will stand on 
yonder summit to greet the sun at its rising, long 
after we have passed away and been forgotten. The 
houses which you occupy will have ci'umbled into 
dust, while the wind and storm leave that bronze 
statue unscathed. I trust that it may be the symbol 
of a united, noble and perpetual republic. Let the 



EXERCISES AT CITY HA1.L. 53 

drum beat and the cannon thnnder and the bells ring 
ont with gladness, let prayer and praise go up to 
heaven, in devout thankfulness to the good God, 
who, in the hour of our extremity, gave to us a 
Washington ! 

The address was listened to with marked attention, 
the speaker being frequently interrupted by hearty 
applause. The laughter which greeted his witty ref- 
erences to old time customs was a sure indication 
that they were fully appreciated and thoroughly en- 
joyed. 

At the close of the address the choir sang " Free- 
dom, God and Kight," to the music of " The March 
of the Men of Harlech," harmonized by Joseph 
Barnby. 

Mayor Currier then said : — 

Ladies and Oentlemen: — Owing to the unfavorable 
state of the weather, the presentation and acceptance 
of the statue will take place in this Hall instead of at 
the east end of the Mall as first contemplated. 

Edward F. Coffin, Esq., in behalf of the donor, 
addressed the Mayor as follows : — 

Your Honor Mayor Currier and . Gentlemen of the 
City Council of Newhuryport : 

Feeling great love for his native place, and desiring 
to express it by some ennobling work of art, Daniel 
I. Tenney, Esq., of I^ew York city, has erected here 



54 STATUE OF WASHTN'GTON". 

a statue of Washington, the acknowledged represen- 
tative of the sterling qualities of manhood. 

It is an American work, designed and executed by 
American artisans. I now have the honor, in his 
name, to present it to jon — in trust — as the represen- 
tatives of the people of l!^ewburyport. 

His Honor Mayor Currier, in behalf of the City of 
I^ewburyport, received the statue in the following fit- 
ting words: — 

Honored Sir : — In my ofl&cial capacity I accept for 
the citizens of IN^ewburyport, whom I have the honor 
to represent on this occasion, the munificent gift 
which you have presented in the name of its gener- 
ous donor. These public ceremonies, congratulations 
and expressions of approval are inspired by the 
thought that one born and bred within the limits of 
this old town, though long a resident elsewhere, still 
remembers with affectionate interest the place of his 
birth, and to-day adds, to its many natural attractions, 
this beautiful and costly specimen of artistic skill. 

He has chosen well in thus presenting to our con- 
stant gaze, in enduring bronze, the form and features 
of one who is " first in the hearts of his countrymen," 
— the embodiment of those grand, heroic qaalities so 
dear to every lover of liberty and equality. Stand- 
ing here, a silent yet faithful monitor, it will con- 
stantly remind us of the struggles and sacrifices our 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. ' 55 

fathers made to establish and perpetuate the prmci- 
ples of Republican Government. As we walk these 
streets, the courage, perseverance and strict integrity 
that characterized Washington, will stimnlate and 
nurture in our hearts the growth of like virtues. 
We feel assured that these lessons will not be for us 
alone, but future generations will also recognize and 
acknowledge their ennobling influences. 

It may happen in after years, that other statues 
will be erected here to men distinguished and honored 
at home and abroad. Perhaps our public squares and 
broad avenues may yet be ornamented and adorned 
with works of art like those that embellish the cities 
of Continental Europe, suggesting even to the hum- 
blest citizen the possibility of a higher life and nobler 
culture. 

It will be well for us, and for those who come af- 
ter us, if, in addition to the beauty of the surround- 
ing landscape, — the picturesque hills, the blue waters 
of the Merrimac and the majestic ocean beyond, — we 
can point to the sculptured monuments about us, 
symbolizing and expressing thoughts and aspirations 
that lie too deep for words. 

On those who dwell in this community no more ap- 
propriate gift could be bestowed than the one selected 
and this day publicly dedicated with military and civ- 
ic ceremonies. It will always be remembered with 
gratitude that the first public statue erected within 
the limits of this ancient sea-port was the gift of 



56 STATUE OF WASHlNGTOlf. 

Daniel Ingalls Teiiney, and a constant source of pride 
and gratification that the life and character it repre- 
sents is noAV, and ever has been, dear to the hearts of 
our people. 

I desire, therefore, in their name, to extend to you 
the hearty thanks of this community for the personal 
attention and watchful care you have given to this 
work and to ask you to convey to him to whose liber- 
ality we are indebted for this faithful and artistic rep- 
resentation of Washington, the assurances of our 
high appreciation of the sentiments and motives that 
prompted this generous gift. While its granite base 
shall stand, and this statue of bronze endure, the 
name of its generous giver will be held in grateful 
remembrance; and the story of this day's ceremonies 
will be handed down from father to son, with increas- 
ing interest, to be henceforth a part of our local his- 
tory never to be forgotten. 

At the close of these remarks it was proposed that 
a telegram be sent to Mr. Tenney, in New York, 
thanking him for his munificent gift to the City of 
N^ewburyport. This suggestion meeting with the 
unanimous and enthusiastic approval of the audience, 
the following telegraphic dispatch was immediately 
forwarded : 

Newburyport, February 22, 1879. 
To Daniel I. Tenney, Esq., Metropolitan Hotel, New York City : 
B}^ a unanimous vote of the citizens assembled in City 
Hall, I am instructed to thank you, — their public benefactor. 

JOHN J. CURRIER, Mayor. 



EXERCISES AT CITY HALL. 57 

To this message the following reply was returned: 

New Yokk, February 22, 187!). 
To Hon. John J. Currier, Mayor : 

Sincere thanks for yours. Accept cordial greetings, with 
assurances of continued love and esteem. 

DANIEL I. TENNF.Y. 

The delegation from Kew York also sent the follow- 
ing dispatch: 

Newburtport, February 22, 1879. 
To Daniel I. Tenney, Esq., Metroj^olitan Hotel, New York City : 
The statue was most enthusiastically and glorioush* re- 
ceived ; addresses admirable ; your noble gift fully appreciated. 

GEORGE D. WILDES, 
GEOKGE D. LUNT, 
DANIEL FOSTER. 

To this Mr. Tenney responded as follows: 

New York, February 22, 1879. 

Messrs. George D. Wildes, George D. Lunt and Daniel Foster^ 

Newhuryport, Mass. 

Acce})t my warmest thanks and good will for 3-our kind 

congratulations. 

DANIEL I. TENNEY. 

Some musical selections were then given by the 
band, which closed the exercises at the hall. 



THE UNVEILING OF THE STATUE. 



A procession was then formed, on Brown Square, 
in the following order: 

Detachment of Police, under charge of the City Marshal.' 

Chief-Marshal and Staff (mounted). 

Lieut. -Colonel Charles L. Ayers, Chief Marshal. 

members of his staff, 

William B. Porter, William R. Johnson, 

Arthur C. Richardson, Joseph M. Greeuough, 

W. H. Whitmore, Jr., Horace L. Balch. 

Haverhill Cornet Band. 

First Battalion, Eighth Regiment, M. V. M. 

Major Edward F. Bartlett, Commander ; 

Lieutenant Henry Walsh, Acting Adjutant. 

Company M (Sherman Cadets) , Lawrence ; 

Capt. Lawrence Duchesney ; First-Lieut. George W. Towne ; 

Second-Lieut. A. E. Towne. 

Company A (Cushing Guard) ; 

Capt. David L. Withiugton ; Fu'st-Lieut. Henry Walsh ; 

Second-Lieut. Thomas Huse, Jr. 

Company F (Haverhill City Guard) ; 

Capt. Marshall Alden ; First-Lieut. T. E. B. French; 

Second-Lieut. George W. Hanscom. 

Compan}' B (City Cadets) ; 

Capt. Samuel W. Tuck ; First-Lieut. Oscar C. Lougee ; 

Second-Lieut. Charles N. Satford. 

Carriages containing Mayor John J. Currier, 

Members of the Board of Aldermen and Common Council, 

Ex-Mayous and Invited Guests. 



imVEILmG OF THE STATUE. 59 

The escort received the Mayor and nivited guests 
with a military salute, and the line of march was then 
taken up, through Pleasant street and State street, to 
the Mall. Here no ceremonies were, held, beyond the 
simple unveiling of the statue, which had been cov- 
ered with the flags of the nation. As the drapery 
fell, the Mayor, rising in his carriage, said : "I now 
propose three cheers for our benefactor, Daniel In- 
galls Tenney, of I*^ew York." These were heartily 
given by the assembled crowd, and were immediately 
followed by a salute of thirteen guns, while the band 
played "Hail to the Chief," and thus announced the 
unveiling of the statue and the close of the public 
ceremonies. 

The procession, under military escort, returned to 
City Hall, and the invited guests were then driven to 
the residence of the Mayor, where dinner was served. 
The military, again forming, marched through several 
streets to Essex, and Washington Halls, where they 
partook of an excellent collation, which was much en- 
joyed after their chilly parade. 



Great regret was expressed that the unfavorable 
state of the weather and the ill health of Mr. Tenney 
prevented him from joining in the public exercises of 
this occasion. It was considered imprudent, however, 
for him to make the attempt at this season of the 
year, consequently old friends and acquaintances 
were denied the pleasure of taking him by the hand 
and personally thanking him for his noble tribute of 
respect and filial love. 



60 STATUE OF WASHrnGTON-. 

In this connection it is eminently just and proper 
that special attention should be called to the valuable 
services of two of his personal friends, who so es- 
sentially aided him in carrying out his generous plans. 
^N^ewburyport has abundant reason to respond most 
heartily to the resolutions, which may be found in 
the preceding pages, (adopted by her sons in ]N^ew 
York,) thanking Samuel J. Dennis, Esq., of that 
city, for the personal attention he has given to this 
work, and to unite with them in the assurance that 
his services will always be gratefully remembered; 
nor will she forget the active part taken by one of her 
own citizens, Edward F. Coffin, Esq., to whom was 
confided the care and labor of providing a suitable lo- 
cation for the statue and of making the formal pre- 
sentation to the city authorities. 

Considering the season of the year, and the quiet 
and instructive character of the exercises, no public 
celebration in this city ever passed off" more satisfac- 
torily or with greater success. It was a memorable 
occasion; and, as a recognition of the donor's liber- 
ality, as creditable to l^ewburyport as it must have 
been gratifying to him. The possession of this val- 
uable work of American art, unrivalled as a faithful 
representation of Washington, gives distinction to the 
city, and notably adds to its many attractions. 





Cn/^- 



iU^ df. c/<e 



m/Kj^ 



APPENDIX. 



A BRIEF ACCOUNT 



OF SOME OF THE 



FAMOUS STATUES OP 'WASHINGTON. 



Among the many statues of TVasliington in this country are 
some famous works of art. Three of the earhcst were designed by 
sculptors of great eminence and acknowledged ability. 

In 1784, the Legislature of Virginia authorized the Governor of 
that State "to procure a statue of Washington, to be of the finest 
marble and of the best workmanship." Thomas Jefferson and 
Benjamin Franklin, then in Paris, were applied to by Governor 
Harrison for advice and assistance in the selection of a competent 
artist. They engaged the services of Jeane Antoine Houdon, who 
was regarded as one of the most distinguished sculptors in Eui'ope. 
M. Houdon entered upon the work with much enthusiasm, visiting 
this countr}' and remaining at Mount Vernon two or three weeks in 
the month of October, 1785, engaged in modehng a bust of AYash- 
ington. Returning to Paris, he there executed, in marble, the onl}^ 
statue of this illustrious citizen ever made from actual life, repre- 
senting him as he appeared at the age of fifty-four years. It was 
said, by the intimate friends of Washington, that this figure was 
remarkably exact in all its lineaments. It was completed in two 
years, and now stands in the State Capitol, at Richmond. 

Although these particulars are matters of history this brief ac- 



64 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

count ma}^ be of sufficient interest to allow of its insertion here, in- 
asmuch as Mr. Ward was assisted by the work of the French 
sculptor in giving a faithful likeness, in feature and expression, to 
the statue just presented to the Cit}" of Newburyport. 

If it be one of the purposes of a sculptor's art to recall 
historical associations, then the modern dress was most wisely 
adopted b}^ Mr. Ward. This part of Houdon's work was in ac- 
cordance with Washington's own taste, as will be gathered from 
a correspondence between himself and Thomas Jefferson, then 
minister at the Court of France, from which the following extracts 
are taken : 

FROM Jefferson's letter to Washington. 

"Paris, 4th January, 1786. 
I have been honored with your letter of September the 26th, 
which was delivered to me by M. Houdon, who is safely returned. 
He has brought with him the mould of the face only, having left 
the other parts of his work with his workmen to come b}^ some 
other conveyance. Dr. Franklin, who was associated with me in 
the superintendence of this just monument, having left us before 
what is called the costume .of the statue was decided on, I cannot 
so well satisfy myself, and am persuaded I should not so well satisfy 
the world, as by consulting your own wish or inclination in regard 
to this article. Permit me, therefore, to ask you whether there is 
any particular dress or any particular attitude which 3'ou would 
rather wish to be adopted. I shall take a singular pleasure in hav- 
ing your own idea executed, if you will be so good as to make it 
known to me." 

FROM Washington's letter to jefferson. 

* " Mount Vernon, 1st August, 1786. 

In answer to ^-our ol)liging inquiries respecting the dress and at- 
titude which I would wish to have given to the statue in question, 
I have onl^' to observe that, not having sufficient knowledge in the 
art of sculpture to oppose m^^ judgement to the taste of connois- 
seurs, I do not desire to dictate in the matter. On the contrary, I 
shall be perfect^ satisfied with whatever may be judged decent and 



APPENDIX. 65 

proper. I slionld oven scarcely liavc ventured to suggest thut per- 
haps a servile adherence to the garb of antiquity might not be alto- 
gether so expedient as some little deviation in favor of the modern 
costume." 

This reply shows the characteristic modesty of the writer, as well 
as his correct taste in suggesting something less ambitious than the 
classic drapery which modern artists are so fond of adopting. 

The second statue of Washington was by Canova, the celebrated 
Italian artist, and was purchased by the State of North Carolina. 
The figure is in a sitting posture, in Roman costume, and is re- 
garded as a splendid specimen of the sculptor's art. Unfortunately 
this famous statue was materially injured by the fire which 
destroyed the State House at Raleigh, where it had been placed. 

Chantrey's statue, in the State House in Boston, was the third 
representation ; and in this work the English sculptor has employed 
the military cloak, which displays to advantage Washington's com- 
manding figure. In the judgment of intelhgent critics, both Can- 
ova and Chantrey exerted their skill as artists more to express 
their own conception of the character of Washington than to ob- 
tain a correct likeness of his person. The Chantrey statue was 
procured by private subscriptions in Boston. 

Of the statues of Washington by American artists, the one exe- 
cuted in Italy by Horatio Greenough, our earliest sculptor, deserves 
particular notice. It is colossal in size, and in a sitting posture ; a 
loose drapery covering the lower part of the figure. This work was 
finished in fulfilhuent of a commission from the United States 
Government, having occupied the artist, his biographer says, the 
best part of eight ^-ears. I* was erected in 1843. It was intended 
by the sculptor for the rotunda, and not for the eastern front of the 
Capitol where it now stands. 

The unfavorable criticism made upon this "first struggle of our 
infant art," as the artist termed it, led him to remark that "had I 



66 STATUE OF WA8HENGTON. 

been ordered to make a statue for any square or similar situation in 
the metropolis, I should have represented Washington on horseback 
and in his actual dress. I would have made my work purely an 
historical one. I have treated the subject poetically." 

Many persons who have visited New York Cit}^ will remember the 
colossal equestrian statue of Washington in Union Square. It is 
the work of Henry Kirke Brown. It was commenced in 1853, fin- 
ished and dedicated Jul}- 4th, 1856, and is the first bronze statue 
ever wholly executed in this countr}'. Gentlemen of wealth and 
culture, residing in the neighborhood of Union Square, interested 
themselves in this production of American art, and provided, by 
private subscription, the sum necessary to ensure its purchase and 
location on the spot where it now stands. 

Crawford's equestrian statue has been regarded as the crowning 
achievement of his prolific genius. It surmounts the famous Wash- 
ington monument, designed by him- under a commission from the 
State of Virginia, and erected on Capitol Hill. The statue, colos- 
sal in its proportions, stands twenty-five feet from the ground. It 
is of bronze ; and was cast in Munich, under the sculptor's personal 
supervision, and was received in Richmond with great enthusiasm 
early in 1858. James, the novelist, referring to it, says: "I do 
not believe Crawford intended to represent any particular mo- 
ment or any particular event in Washington's life. It was only 
Washington — Washington embalmed in memories such as leave 
behind all spices of the Egyptian tomb — the love of his countr}^- 
men, the gratitude of ages, the admiration of a world ; Washing- 
ton leading on, not so much to victory and fame as to duty and 
Uberty." 

Another equestrian statue of Washington, in bronze, is by a self- 
made man, and one of the most fortunate of American artists, Clark 
Mills. It represents the Commander-in-Chief of the Army as he 
appeared at the battle of Monmouth ; and was executed under an 



APPENDIX. 67 

order from the United States Government, and dedicated in the Cit}^ 
of Washington, on the 22d of Febrnary, 1860. 

A more recent work is a statne l)}- Thomas Ball. Tliis scnlptor 
accepted an invitation from a number of gentlemen to model an 
equestrian statue of Washington, which he completed after several 
years' labor. The casting in bronze was unavoi(lal)ly delayed by a 
press of work at the foundry, but was finally made l)y the Ames 
Manufacturing Company, at Chicopee, ahd the statue was placed 
in the Public Garden, in Boston, in 1868. 

To this list may now be added the admirable bronze statue by 
John Q. A. Ward, which has just been presented to the City of 
Newburyport by Daniel I. Tenne}', Esq., of New York. Intelli- 
gent art critics assign to this work a high place in American art ; 
and, as it becomes more widel}^ known, it will add to the national 
reputation of the artist, whose productions have already placed him 
among the most celebrated of native sculptors. The subject, which 
has not the advantage of novelty, is so skilfully' treated by Mr. 
Ward that it cannot fail of winning popular favor ; for the more it 
is studied the greater appears its success as an effort, in plastic art, 
to transmit to posterity a life-like representation of the Father of 
his Country. 

This august figure, elevated upon its graceful pedestal and look- 
ing toward the rising sun, seems to be contemplating the success- 
ful ending of the Revolutionar}' conflict and the dawn of the New 
Republic. 



WASHINGTON'S YISIT TO NEWBUEYPOET. 



As a memorial, simpl}^ aside from its great merit as a work of 
art, tlie statue of Washington just placed here cannot fail to inter- 
est the citizens of Newbur3^port, — recalling, as it does, events of a 
local yet pleasing character in the annals of this historic town, — 
for nowhere in New England was General Washington held in 
higher esteem. His visit to Newburyport, in 1789, was made 
the occasion of a remarkable reception, which not only exhibited 
the patriotic enthusiasm of the people but the social and political 
importance of the town and its influence in national affairs. One 
of its citizens, Hon. Tristram Daltou, was at that time a Senator 
in Congress from the State of Massachusetts. 

General Washington entered the town by the old stage route, 
over Parker river bridge, and was met at the boundary line, on 
High street, by the militia and artillery companies of Newbury- 
port and a procession of citizens, and escorted through several of 
the principal streets. One of the original hand-bills, giving the or- 
der of procession on that occasion, was exhibited February 22d, 
1879, at the store of Lord Brothers, No. 17 Market square, (with 
some other relics illustrating events in the life of Washington,) and 
attracted notice, not onty for its antiquity, but for the indication it 
gives of the early prosperity of the town, its industries, and the va- 
riety of occupations in which her citizens were then engaged. 
The full text of this ancient document is of sufficient interest to in- 
sert here : 



APPENDIX. 69 

" Newi'.ukyi'out, October 28, 1789. 
As this town is on Fridaj^ next to bo honored with a Visit 
from ' The Man who nnites all hearts,' The Illustrious Presi- 
dent OF THE United States, the inhabitants thereof, this day in 
Town Meeting assembled, have agreed to the followiuo- 

Order of Procession. 

Selectmen, Distillers, 

Overseers of the Poor, Goldsmiths and Jewellers, 

Town Treasurer, Hair Dressers, 

Magistrates, Hatters, 

Reverend Clergy, House Carpenters, 

Physicians, Masons, 

Lawyers, Mast-makers, 

Merchants and Traders, Painters, 

Marine Society, Riggers, 

Masters of Vessels, Rope-makers, 

Strangers, &c.. Saddlers, 

Bakers, Sail-makers, 

Blacksmiths, Shipwrights, to include Caulkers, 
Block-makers, Ship-joiners, &c., 

Boat-builders, Tailors, 

Cabinet-makers, Truckmen, 

Coopers, Seamen, 

Cordwainers, Schoohnasters, with their scholars. 

The procession, outwards, will be preceded by the Artillery and 
Militia. 

It is requested that the several bodies of gentlemen above 
mentioned, will meet at the Parade, near the Ferry- way,* a little 
above the Meeting-House, with their Ladies at their Head, at 12 
o'clock on Friday noon, when the Marshal will be ready to form 



*The Ferry-way here mentioned was on the present site of the Market 
House; and the meeting house was the old churcli building of the First Relig- 
ious Society, which stood in about the centre of what is now Market Square. 
The " great silence " enjoined, doubtless, was to render more eiTective the 
"Ode of Welcome " which had been prepared and was sung by a company of 
young men, as the first President entered the town and was met by the pro- 
cession. Washington, (the historian says) was moved even to tears by this 
novel and unexpected feature in his reception. 



70 STATUE OF WASHINGTOI^. 

them in Procession. — The several Clergymen from the neighboring 
Towns are desired to join the Procession in company with the 
Clergy of this Town. — The Mechanics from other Towns are like- 
wise requested to join those in this Town of the same occupation. 

It is strongly recommended that all loose Firing, and every kind 
of Fireworks, be avoided previous to and during the Procession, 
and that as great Silence may be kept as possible," 

In the arrangements made for entertaining General Washington 
a part of a noted private residence, then known as the Tracy 
house, was placed at the disposal of the town authorities during 
his visit. Entering this statelj' mansion, he was there welcomed 
by an address from John Quincy Adams, then a resident of New- 
bmyport, to which Washington responded in gratif^dng terms. 
The house for those early days was considered palatial, and famed 
for the elegant hospitalities dispensed by the Tracy family to numer- 
ous guests of the highest distinction, — Talleyrand, Marquis De 
Chastellux, Louis Phillippe, Brissot DeWarville, M. DeMon- 
TESQUiEU, (the two latter at that time deputies of the French As- 
sembly) — and other gentlemen of note. And in the same mansion, 
now most admirably remodeled in its interior for the Free Public 
Libraiy of this cit}', General Lafayette, in his memorable visit to 
the United States in 1824, was entertained, with his suite, as guests 
of the town. Clustered around this historic edifice are memories of 
distinguished public men and princely merchants eminent in society 
a century ago. 

General Washington, on his way to New Hampshire, was con- 
veyed across the Merrimac river at a point opposite Amesbury, in 
a barge elegantly prepared for the occasion b}' the Marine Society, 
and escorted to the boundarv line of that State. 



VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS 

TO THE EXERCISES ATTENDING 

The Presentation of the Statue of Washington, 

FEBRUARY 22, 1879, 



APOSTROPHE TO WASHINGTON. 

BY HON. WILLIAM WILLIAMS. 

Illustrious man ! O, ever-lionored name ! 

To thee we'd rear an obelisk of Fame ! 

Inscribe thy title on its magic face, 

In characters that Time cannot erase ; 

With base surrounded by collecting crowds, 

Its stately summit shooting to the clouds, 

Pointing above, to the ethereal realm, 

Crowned with thy laurel, and Minerva's helm : 

Should'st thou, hereafter, through thy cerements burst. 

Or, now, be hovering o'er thy mortal dust, 

Smile on this statue, raised to thee alone, 

A sacred cenotaph of th}' renown. 

Heaven holds this emblem sketched upon its dome. 

Its name the Altar, the blue sky its home. 

Long as the everlasting hills endure. 

Long as old Ocean beats the rock- bound shore, 

Long as the planets by the Sun are drawn, 

Long as that Orb creates Aurora's dawn. 

Long as the constellations gem the sk}'. 

Thy name, great Washington, will never die. 



72 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

EPIGRAM. 

' BY HON. GEORGE LUNT. 

Mr. Tenney, you've done better 

Than your half-namesake, Tennesson ; 

He breathes thoughts to wake emotions, 
You a noble deed have done. 

And as long as glowing memory 
Lasts, of ancient Newbury's fame, 

With its dearest recollections 
Will be blended Tenuey's name. 



A SENTIMENT. 

BY CHARLES HODGE HUDSON. 

Newhuryport: Maintaining as she has, through a long period of 
her history, — and probabl}^ without a compeer in that respect, — the 
remarkable position, not only of the one-hundredth part of the 
ever-prosperous State of Massachusetts, but also of a very exact 
average of the good old Commonwealth, in the proportion of wealth 
and population ; with a people who have united a rare freedom of 
thought and of speech with an almost unexampled boldness and 
promptness of action ; ever firm in the support of the National 
Constitution, and ready to make the largest sacrifices for its main- 
tenance ; true to the principles of the State Constitution, which is 
stamped throughout with the genius, the learning, the sagacity' and 
the patriotism of the most eminent sou of Old Newbury, her ever 
honored mother : 

May she always prove true to herself, true to her past history, 
and true to the memor}' and example of the many noble men who 
have contributed so much brillianc}' to her history and so much of 
permanent prosperit}' to her people. 




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THE NEW YEAR'S GIFT 



Daniel I. Tenney, Esq, to the City of Newburyport, Jan. 1, 181?. 



Near the close of the year 1876, Hon. "Warren Currier of this 
city, at the request of Daniel I. Tenney, Esq., of New York, ap- 
plied to the Maj'or of Newburyport for permission to remove the 
lamp-posts in front of City Hall and to erect, in their place, others 
of a more costly' design. 

This request was granted ; and during the last week in December 
the old lamp-posts were removed to the entrance of the Public Li- 
brar}^ building on State street, and new ones substituted and ready 
for use on the morning of January 1, 1877. So quietly was the 
work accomplished that onl}- a few members of the Cit}' Govern-' 
ment knew that it was contemplated, and to the citizens generallj^ it 
was a complete surprise. The whole cost of this public improve- 
ment was paid by Mr. Tenney. 

These two elegantly wrought lamp-posts, each bearing five plate- 
glass lanterns with bronze fixtures, were from the celebrated manu- 
factory of Mitchell, Vance & Co., New York City. The lamps 
were lighted for the first time, on New Year's night, January 1, 
1877, and made a brilliant appearance. The organization of the 
City Council, — Geo. W. Jackman, Jr., Mayor— had taken place 



74 STATUE OF WASHINGTON. 

in the morning, and at the evening session this valuable gift waa 
formall}^ acknowledged by the following resolutions, unanimously 
adopted : 

"January 1, 1877. 

Whereas, The City of NewburjqDort has been made the recipi- 
ent of an elegant and costly New Year's present, by one of her 
honored and generous sons, therefore 

Resolved, That the thanks of the City be and hereby are pre- 
sented to Daniel Ingalls Tenney, Esq., of New York, for the gift 
of two valuable lamp-posts with bronze lanterns, of surpassing 
beauty, which have been placed in front of City Hall. 

Resolved, That the continued interest of Mr. Tenney in his na- 
tive cit3", again substantially manifested, is dul}" appreciated, and 
that this kind remembrance shall not be forgotten. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to Mr Ten- 
ne}', signed by the Ma3-or and the City Clerk." 



Opposite the seventy-third page will be found a photographic view, 
printed by the heliotype process, for the illustration of this pamph- 
let. It convej's to the eye an accurate and pleasing picture of the 
lamp posts and lanterns, which, in addition to lighting the front en- 
trance to Cit}' Hall and the open space known as Brown Square, 
are highly ornamental to that pleasant locality. 

This gift also serves as a memorial. It marks the spot where 
the life of Richard Tenney, (father of the donor,) was suddenly 
ended in the year 1809. At an alarm of fire, Mr. Tennej'' senior, 
then forty-one years of age, started an engine from the vicinit}' of 
his house on the corner of Orange and Fair streets, and, with the 
little aid his son Daniel (then a small lad) could give, dragged it 
some distance before other help was rendered. Reaching the site 
of Cit}' Hall, he suddenly fell from exhaustion, and on being taken 
to a neighboring house expired in a few hours, leaving a widow 
with three children, of whom Daniel was the oldest. 



City CouNciL~i879. 



MAYOR, 



John J. Currier, 



ALDERMEN. 



ALBERT CHEEVER, 
WILLIAM H. NOTES, 
THOMAS MACKINNEY, 



JOHN WOODWELL, 
CHARLES L. AYERS, 
JOHN P. EVANS. 



COMMON 

WILLIAM A. 

WILLIAM B. PORTER, 
RUFUS ADAMS, 
NATHANIEL GREELEY, 
ISAAC POOR, 
THOMAS HUSE, Jr., 
ROBERT G. SARGENT, 
WILLIAM A. DAVIS, 
WILLARD J. HALE, 
THOMAS H. BOARDMAN, 



COUNCILMEN. 
DAVIS, President. 

HORACE L. BALCH, 
ALVIN D. RUSSELL, 
ARTHUR C. RICHARDSON, 
DANIEL W. CATE, 
WILLIAM R. JOHNSON, 
JOSEPH HALL, 
WILLIAM E. McQUILLEN, 
Wlil. H. WIIITMORE, Jr., 

JOSEPH s. bah.i:y, 



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